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| Thursday, 12 February 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| Ministry Secretaries to return vehicles: President sacks non-Cabinet and Deputy Ministers President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has sacked all non-Cabinet and Deputy Ministers in the aftermath of the dissolution of Parliament. Each non-Cabinet and Deputy Minister was individually informed of this decision. President Kumaratunga has also directed Ministry secretaries to ensure that government vehicles and office equipment still being used by the 27 non-Cabinet Ministers and the 12 Deputy Ministers are returned without delay, the Presidential Secretariat said. More than 350 State vehicles were being used by the Ministers. Presidential Secretary W.J.S. Karunaratne has written to Ministry Secretaries that "in pursuance of the notification dissolving Parliament, the President has also taken a decision to remove all ministers who are not members of the Cabinet and Deputy Ministers from office". Non-Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers are required to resign after the dissolution of Parliament. Karunaratne also said: "It has been brought to the notice of the President that government vehicles, office equipment, important files and other documents of some ministries are being taken away from the ministries, departments and corporations by officials and personal staff of the Ministers and Deputy Ministers without any legal authority to do so. This is irregular and amounts to criminal misappropriation of public property." He directed Ministry Secretaries to take action to prevent the removal of any public property from the custody of the Ministry or any Departments/Corporations coming under the purview of the Ministry. With the removal of the Ministers outside the Cabinet and Deputy Ministers, all their personal staff, such as private secretaries and co-ordinating officers cease to hold office. Ministry Secretaries have been urged to ensure that any vehicles or public property in their possession should be handed over the relevant ministry before they leave their posts. No fuel orders will be issued to these vehicles. Ministry Secretaries will have to submit a list of all returned vehicles and public property. Political parties and elections monitoring organisations earlier requested President Kumaratunga to sack the non-Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers of the UNF caretaker Government. They also asked the President and the Commissioner of Elections to order the seizure of State-owned vehicles being used by these Ministers and Deputy Ministers if they are not being returned immediately since these could be used illegally for election work. The use of vehicles and other State-owned facilities for election purposes is a clear violation of election laws. The President has also been urged to reduce the caretaker Cabinet to 15, from the present 32 to minimise State expenditure during the campaign period for the April 2 election. |
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